DZ2K19
Light the Ray of Hope - Official motto of 2K19 DZ2K19 is an game in the DZ2K series. It was released on all consoles including the Nintendo Switch at October 21st, 2018. This game celebrates Special A's and Dead Space's 10th Anniversary. Cover Star The Cover star in DZ2K19 is Xin Xianying from Dynasty Warriors. Plot 11 months have past since the previous tournament and Xin Xianying is currently on holiday while her father's recovering from his injuries. But then, the Mishima Zaibatsu has struck once again and this time, The Marker, an alien object that was thought to be destroyed five years ago, is a key point to their resurgence. Knowing that The Marker is responsible, Xianying forms a group of fighters including Issac Clarke, one of the people that stopped the Markers, Sento Kiryu, Kamen Rider Build, Yusuke Fujisaki, the leader of Sket Dan, and Ria Iwamura, a woman who is a respected and feared hacker, to help her figure out the source. But what she doesn't know is the new leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu is an old enemy that has a past relationship with her. What does Issac Clarke know about who the leader is? What does Sento know about the Markers? Xianying will have to find out and be the Bringer of Light.... Development Kyle Howard, the lead producer of DeadZone Crisis 2, returns as producer and makes his directorial debut. Howard has stated that the game will be a complete 'revival' to the franchise, as he and his development team wanted to refresh the original format while adding some needed changes. A Mandarin Dub has been confirmed, making 2K19 the first game in the DZ2K series to have a different language besides English and Japanese. The announcer for 2K19 is Dean Ambrose in order to compensate for his lengthy absence in WWE while the Narrator for the endings is Jen Brown, the voice of Pyrrha Nikos, Carolina, Wu Guotai and recently, Ria Iwamura. Kyle revealed that he wanted to create a better connection with the fans after 18-2's disastrous release, which led many people to quit the series over female characters as leads, which Kyle believes that it's stupid. Hero Mode has been confirmed and will be similar to NBA and WWE 2K's MyCareer except that you can actually make your own character and go through an original story. Roster The roster will have at least 345 characters, not as much as 2K18 but more than 2K16. For the first time, a lot of movie characters will be in the game. New Characters * Ryan Taylor * Kirukiru Amou * Geralt of Rivia * Tian Feng * Gao Shun * Saizo * Stelio Kontos * Nagahide Niwa * Guan Yi * Devon Pinto * The Junior Deputy * Zen * Audrey Lok * Ciri * Mike Chioda * Charles Robinson * John Cone * Violet Evergarden * Ethan Carter the Third * Xin Pi * Rama * Groh * Nomura Fudo * Tsukasa Kadoya * Becky Marney * Jin Sakai *'Ronda Rousey' *'Ma Liang' *'Jiang Ji' *'Sun Deng' *'Kae Midorikawa' *'Chase' *'Etika' *'Angry Joe' *'Wiz' *'Kanako Kobayashi' *'Haruto Toya' *'Trent Seven' *'Wolfgang' *'Ryuga Banjo' *'Thief Arthur' *'Kawase' *'Shovel Knight' *'Hisoka' *'Takeshi Asakura' *'Rodeo Montana' *'Yue' *'Tiger Miyage' *'Ruby' *'Satou Matsuzaka' *'Luka Milfy' *'Zeus (Warriors Orochi)' DLC Characters * Hikari Hanazono (Different Paths Edition) * John Carver (Different Paths Edition) * Kei Takishima (Different Paths Edition) * Ellie Langford (Different Paths Edition) * Finn Macauley (Different Paths Edition) * Kara Hui (Pre-Order Bonus) * Sanjay Singhania (Pre-Order Bonus) * Ricochet * Kenny (YO! Videogames) * Athena * Satou's Aunt * Diego * Haruka Ozora * Cheng-Fu * Ray McCall * Rias Gremory * Party Girl * Fujin * Jessa Yetsuda Season 2 (December 2018) * Kamen Rider Zi-O * Tsubame Kamoi * Matt Riddle * Tama Tonga * Tira * Kyosuke Kagami * Yukari Tanizaki * Amy Season 3 (March 2019) * Takashi Iizuka * Yukina * Gai Ikari (Gokai Silver) * Captain Mizuki * Michelle Chang * Roman Torchwick * Kyoko Minazuki * Aeon (Lizardman) DLC This year, DLC content is less than 2K18. At E3, it was revealed that there will be 12 additional characters, new DLC costumes, songs, stories and customisation items. However, he revealed that if players pre-ordered the game, then they'll get an exclusive costume for Xin Xianying, created by the people behind Dead Space. Also, in honour of Special A's 10th anniversary, there will be a special costume for Issac Clarke by the team behind Special A. To top it off, a Ghajini costume will also be available for Sento Kiryu. It was confirmed that the three costumes will be available for free 1 week after the release. Season 2 has been teased, which would later be confirmed the day after the game's release Season 3 has been confirmed. A BTS costume pack was confirmed with 7 characters getting outfits inspired by BTS. Theme Hope This year, it will focus on Hope. Kyle explained that there is always hope in the darkest of places. This is probably the reason why Xianying was selected to be the cover star of this game. Secrets Due to Issac's knowledge about The Marker, Xianying cannot help but wonder if Issac knew who the new leader was. Kyle explained that since Xianying had no idea about The Marker nor Nicole 10 years ago (Considering that her father appeared in that time and she didn't), she is rather unaware of it. Dementia Like Issac, Carver, Stross, and Karrie, Xianying will suffer some type of Dementia, but this was due to Nicole. Guilt Some time during 2K19's story, Xianying will express guilt over the fact that she almost killed her father in the last game. Kyle wanted to have an emotional feeling to the overall game. Road to WrestleMania Road to WrestleMania has been confirmed. According to the official wiki, Road to WM will take place during 4 months to WrestleMania 34, meaning that the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and Fastlane have been confirmed as stages. Kyle later confirmed that 2K19's Road to WM will have 16 Character Stories with 8 more as DLC Character Stories # Asuka # Monster Hunter # Kirukiru Amou # Dr. Emily Grey # Heath Slater # Stelio Kontos # The Bar # Cao Xiu # Mirai Sarutobi # Dante # Johnny Gargano # Oboro # The Two Ruby's (Ruby Riot and Ruby Rose) # Lian Shi # Devon Pinto # Kula Diamond 2K Showcase It has been revealed that three 2K Showcase campaigns will be in 2K19. Daniel Bryan, Hinata Hyuga and Skullomania have been confirmed to have 2K Showcase Campaigns with 12 more being revealed as Unlockables. # Daniel Bryan # Hinata Hyuga # Skullomania # Xianghua (Unlockable) # Iori Yagami (Unlockable) # Kitana (Unlockable) # Shawn Michaels (Unlockable) # Frank West # Taki Multiplayer This year, Multiplayer is completely different from the previous games. A lot of modes from previous games, including King of the Ring, Royal Rumble, and Survival, have returned. A Battle Royal mode has been confirmed by Kyle. New Modes * Battle Royale A new mode that is similar to Fortnite and PBUG. However, players can earn in-game currency as they face off against other people. A new stage will be the default area for Battle Royale. * UK Championship Tournament The official UK championship tournament. Hosted by Nigel McGuinness, this event will take 16 players against each other, offline or online. The winner will face off against Pete Dunne for the title. Hero Mode * ''For years, we've given your faves the spotlight, but this time, YOU have your own story. YOU will have your chance in the spotlight. - Kyle's comment '' This year, DZ2K19 will have a mode similar to 2K's My Career. The writer for Hero Mode will be done by Riku Sanjou, who is known as the head writer for multiple Toku productions. Plot After witnessing a murder, you have been put into special protection by Triple H, who knows about the murders. As the hours go by, you can't help but realise that the murder was only the beginning. With Triple H on your side, will you find out who's responsible or will you suffer the same fate as the victim....? Crossover Like the previous games, DZ2K19 and WWE2K19 will have a special crossover event. Xin Xianying and AJ Styles, the cover stars of said games, will be partners in SummerSlam 2018 against Brock Lesnar. Soundtrack This year, Rap Monster, one of the members of BTS, is the music producer of 2K19. Along with other people, he chose 24 songs for the game including a couple of the bands' songs # XXXTENTACION - WingRiddenAngel # Merk - Too Much # Kelvin Gates - 2 Phones # AAA - Climax Jump # Three Days Grace - Let's Start a Riot # Blackbear - IDFC (Tarro Remix) # Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools # Merk - Spooky and Blanco # D4NNY - Goodbye (SicKick remix) # BTS - Fake Love (Rock Remix) # Lil Uzi Vert - XO TOUR LIFE # 21 Savage - Bank Account # Migos - Slippery # Ed Sheeran - Castle on the Hill # Ju Jin - WOW WOW WOW # A.R Rahman - KAISE MUJHE # Travis Scott - Sweet Sweet # Aki Toyosaki - U&I # Theory of a Deadman - Welcome to the Panic Room # Travis Scott - Green and Purple # Ed Sheeran - Shape of You # TLC - No Scrubs # Yoko Hikasa - Don't Say Lazy # Ace Hood - Bugatti Popularity Poll Kyle Howard announced three popularity polls. One was done in Late February 2018 while the other will be in Early July. The top 10 from those two polls will be in the final poll, starting in September 2018 Poll 1 # Rusev # Gracia # Dr. Emily Grey # Kamen Rider Ouja # Tian Feng # BigJigglyPanda # Pete Dunne # Xin Xianying # Seth Rollins # Yui Hirasawa Poll 2 # Gordeau # Rashid # Ria Iwamura # Stelio Kontos # Zeku # Braun Strowman # Mary Shepherd-Sunderland # Karrie Norton # Zhou Tai # Julia Chang Poll 3 # Rusev # Zhou Tai # Yui Hirasawa # Dr. Emily Grey # Xin Xianying # Gordeau # Pete Dunne # Ria Iwamura # Julia Chang # Kamen Rider Ouja Controversy Even though DZ2K19 was praised by a lot of fans and critics, there were at least a couple decisions that left fans furious and unhappy, even after the game's release. Tira's Unexpected Exclusion from 2K19 The announcement that Tira, a Soul Calibur veteran and one of the iconic DZ2K veterans, won't be in DZ2K19 has caused a lot of outrage over the fighting game community. Kyle admitted that while he was aware of requests for her to be added, he didn't actually consider of adding her in the game due to him doing most of the game's work. He didn't want anyone to be upset with his reason why Tira was cut yet many of them were furious that Kyle removed her from the roster, which led to them harassing said person, demanding him to reverse his decision. Jim Sterling said that it was yet another insult to the DZ2K franchise, removing Tira, an iconic DZ2K veteran, in DZ2K19, which also added fuel to the fire. To make things worse, Tira was in fact considered but the roster had already been finished during development, including DLC. However, he revealed that Tira will be considered to be added in Season 2. While that alleviate a lot of people's worries, some felt that it's another low blow though Kyle did say that she will be free. But then, due to five new additions to the roster, the backlash came back at full force when it was revealed that all five of them won't be DLC characters and will be free additional characters in a celebratory character pack. Fan-Service Like 2K18, 2K19 has suffered some backlash over it's hotter and sexier costumes for almost every single female character. Polygon, Kotaku and ResetEra are rather annoyed that the game has kept the trademark sexiness. Kyle's response was funny yet it was also threatening. He joked that people should enjoy what they want, but at the same time, he did tell them to leave him alone. Tommaso Ciampa's Exclusion Like Tira, Tommaso Ciampa's exclusion from the roster has left fans disappointed that the current NXT champion has been left out of DZ2K19. However, unlike Tira, who was added too late, Ciampa is a different story. According to Kyle, Ciampa had actually refused to be playable in DZ2K19, due to his heel persona. He had also stated that he tried to get Ciampa in the roster, but the latter had already decided not to be added. Thus, Ciampa was excluded for that reason. However, Kyle did reveal that Ciampa may get added in the future though he didn't specifically say when despite the latter's demands. EA Lawsuit Like the previous game, 2K19 suffered a lawsuit from EA due to it's misuse of the Dead Space characters. Unexpected In-Game Currency Loss The latest update had fixed every single bug that it had at launch, but for some reason, it had got rid of in game currency. That being said, a lot of people were unhappy about that update. Kyle stated that he had no idea that it was going to do that. However, that was resolved a few days later due to another update that fixes the problem The Celebratory Character Problem Despite being well-received by fans, a lot of people were unhappy that the five extra characters are not DLC and were added as a celebratory present. Kizuna Ai was well-received by fans but there was some controversy in regards to her being a free bonus character instead of a DLC character. Fans were quick to voice their displeasure about her addition to the roster despite that it was a celebratory gift. To make things worse, she was added as a bonus character while Tira, an iconic veteran, didn't and was part of the DLC roster. Kyle explained that Kizuna Ai was actually supposed to join the base roster, but they didn't finish her in time (The Base Roster and DLC finalisation was at late January, around the same time as 2K18 Season 2). She was eventually completed and was added as a bonus character. Reception DZ2K19 was met with universal acclaim. Praise was directed at the roster, gameplay, graphics, story, game modes, and customisation though there was minor criticism over the Online mode. The biggest surprise was the Hero Mode and 2K Showcase as it was an instant success Trivia * The cover of DZ2K19 may have some similarities to the cover of Past Cure. Kyle then explained that he added a blood red aura around Xianying, making it similar to DZ2K14's cover. * With Xianying as the Cover star, this is the second time that a Dynasty Warriors character is selected as the cover star. Not counting Xing Cai and Wang Yi in Rivals 1 and Revenge 1, the first was Sun Ce, who shares it with Brock Lesnar in 2K16 * Even though Xianying has a crossover costume, this isn't the first time that Dead Space is involved. In fact, a fan has made a Dead Space costume for Lady Hayakawa, which would later be added in DZ2K17. * In DZ2K19, there are two official themes: One is FAKE LOVE by BTS (Overall Game) and the other is Green and Purple by Travis Scott (Hero Mode). No one knows why both songs were chosen, but Kyle revealed that he chose them to fit the dark and bloody tone of the game * 2K19 marks as the first time that more than 1 Pre-Order Bonus character has been confirmed. * According to Kyle, 2K19 will be completely darker than 2K18 with comedic elements. * 2K19 marks as the first DZ2K game since 2K14 to have a R18+ rating in Australia. This was due to the game's dark and bloody setting. * Despite that Angry Joe has been in the DZ2K series before, this marks as the first time he's playable. The same can also be said for Etika, who's appeared in DZ2K15 and is playable in DZ2K19 * With Etika, Angry Joe and a couple more YouTubers, this is the first time that there are more playable YouTubers besides Markiplier, PewDiePie, Cry, Spoon, the Achievement Hunter crew, the entire Banana Bus Crew, and The Anime Man. * According to Kyle, he had to do a LOT of convincing to 2K due to the previous game's disaster, despite the game receiving critical acclaim. He revealed that 2K actually had no interest in making 2K19 because they only want to do NBA and WWE 2K19, but Kyle convinced them anyway. He also revealed that if fans love 2K19, then he'll start on making 2K20. 2K20 was confirmed by Kyle. * The reason why Fake Love from BTS was chosen as the main theme was because Kyle translated the lyrics. He found out that the lyrics were actually heartbreaking and it fits the current setting of the game. * According to Kyle at Tokyo Game Show 2018, Hero Mode serves as an original story, meaning that it doesn't take place in the timeline. However, this contradicts itself when a mysterious logo appeared a few days later online. This leads many to believe that the mode takes place before the game's events. It was eventually revealed that it takes place in an alternate timeline during 2K19. * BTS' Fake Love is actually the Rocking Vibe mix of said song, at least according to Kyle. He stated that the Rocking Vibe version was the best option for DZ2K19's theme. * According to Kyle, Xianying was chosen due to her personality and her being the perfect fit to 2K19's main theme and setting.